Vietnamese Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls (Cha Gio Chay)

Ingredients

• Spring Roll Wrapper

  Tyj

  12 sheet or 68g

• Mushrooms

  Morel, raw

  2 tbsp or 8g

• Vermicelli Rice Noodles

  A Taste Of Thai

  50g

• Tofu

  Raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate

  16 oz or 454g

• Mushrooms

  Shiitake, raw

  100g

• Avocado oil

  2 tbsp or 28g

• Onions

  Raw

  1 small or 70g

• Carrots

  Raw

  1 small or 50g

• Sugar

  White, granulated sugar

  1 tsp or 4g

• Pepper

  Spices, white

  ⅜ tsp, ground or 0.9g

• Cornstarch

  2 ½ tbsp or 19g

• Oil

  Submarine Sandwich - Wegmans

  100g

• Rice Vermicelli

  President's Choice

  100g

• Mints

  Candy & Mints - Lance Fresh

  100g

• Fresh cilantro

  Coriander leaves, raw

  100g

• Coconut Aminos

  Coconut Secret

  2 tsp or 200g

Directions

1. For the wrappers, make sure they have been thawed and are at room temperature. This way it will be easier to separate themthey'll be pliable and won't break apart easily.
2. Meanwhile, soak the wood ear fungus in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes or until completely rehydrated and tripled in size. Once rehydrated, slice into thin strips.
3. In another heat proof bowl, add in the dry noodles. Pour in boiling hot water and leave the noodles to sit for 10-15 minutes or until chewy and cooked to your liking. Drain the noodles from the water and run through cold water to stop the cooking.
4. Roughly chop up the noodles into small pieces, around 1" long if possible. Set aside.
5. Mash the tofu in a bowl then set aside. You can press the tofu beforehand but it's not necessary since the water will evaporate during cooking. Set aside.
6. For the fresh mushrooms, mince or slice them into very small pieces.
7. Heat a large pan or wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add in the oil. Saute the onion until translucent, around 1-2 minutes. Afterwards, add in the chopped wood ear mushroom and fresh mushroom. Cook down for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add in the carrot and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding in the crumbled tofu and the chewy noodles.
9. Mash the tofu if there are some big chunks. Leave everything to cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. This will allow some water from the tofu to evaporate.
10. Season the filling with salt, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce (if using) and pepper, to taste. Mix everything together.
11. Add in the cornstarch to the mixture. Mix well until the filling starts to thicken. The corn starch will help bind everything together and it'll thicken from the moisture of the tofu and carrot. Turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool before wrapping into rolls.
12. You can also opt to prepare the filling in advance and just store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. I made mine 2 days in advance.
13. Prepare a bowl with water to use to seal the edges of the wrapper. Add around 2-3 tbsp of filling on a wrapper. This may depend on the side of your wrapper. Compress the filling and try to squeeze out any air pockets.
14. Fry: Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add enough oil to submerge at least half of a spring roll. Once the oil has small bubbles and is very hot, lower the heat to medium high. Carefully add in a few rolls (depending on the size of your pan). The spring rolls should immediately sizzle. Leave the rolls to cook for around 3 minutes or until golden brown before flipping over to brown the other side. Remove from the heat and place standing up on a strainer. Allow to cool and do not cover to prevent the rolls from getting soggy.
15. To bake the spring rolls, preheat your oven or oven toaster to 380F/200C. Place the rolls on a lined baking tray. I used parchment paper on mine. Brush some oil on both sides of the rolls. Leave to bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown and crisp, flip halfway through cooking if needed. Note that these rolls won't turn as evenly golden brown and crisp as those cooked in the oil but still crispy!